When were YOU diagnosed? | ADHD Information

I am a 35 M and was diagnosed in April thanks to my wife.  She "suggested" I come to a counseling session with her and after some "suggesting" I agreed to take an ADD test.  I was in denial for a bit because I could not understand how a successful VP of a billion dollar company who made A's in high school could have this.  Even my parents where in denial.  My wife was not popular in the family for a while.  But after doing some research and reflecting on my life I've come to accept it.  My confidence is still shot and I'm a bit fustrated that the stratera is not working for me but I remain hopeful because I'll now be able to take on jobs that I would find interesting instead of looking for jobs that were stimulating because I was in way WAY over my head.  I coping skill was self induced stress to get myself going and it's cost my a couple of ulcers and a gullbladder.  My parents and siblings have struggled with drugs and jail for as long as I can remember and my doc. says that they are self medicating themselves(I never had these problems).  I've come to believe that I made it through school b/c I either got or I didn't and no amount of studying was going to change it; also, I was the space cadet who always seemed to be walking around with his head in the clouds.

I was diagnosed with ADD at age 9. I was having trouble concentrating in school. It didn't seem too bad to me at the time. I would hurry and complete whatever task the teacher would give us (fill out a worksheet; draw a picture; do some math problems; etc.) then doodle or stand up and wander aimlessly around the class. I did have a hard time when it came to sitting down and doing large projects like Science fair projects and book reports. My mom really stayed on top of me and made sure I finished my projects.

The doctors put me on Ritalin, but it made me too depressed. I only took it for about a month or two.

I had a much harder time in High School. I barely graduated. I spent an entire year in a history class and didn't do any of the assignments. I just sat and doodled. It didn't help that the teacher would have us spend every day just reading the book and making an outline of it. (That's the problem with letting the wrestling coach be the history teacher.) That was way too tedious for me.

Now I have been diagnosed with Adult ADD. It wasn't what I origonally went to the councelor for, but I can't say that I was extremly suprised. My wife would tease me saying,"I swear you have ADD."

Now I am taking straterra, but it doesn't seem to be working. The doc just upped my dose, so we'll see how that works.

I just got diagnosed a little over a month ago, I've known that I had ADD since I was 10 years old though (but never seeked help), I'm 21 now.  After I started losing control in college, I figured I didn't want to throw my life away so I went and got help.  Regardless I still feel like my whole life thus far was a waste because I didn't get help earlier.  I sometimes think about what I could ahve accomplished.  dieburnbot38181.3442476852

Hi Cheekydeeky,  I gave you a brief answer on my previous post but here is a more in depth look back at my life.

Forgot to include the first time that I am female and 47.

I always attributed my lack of motivation/procrastination to my mother who was the exact same way.  She watched TV most of the day.  The couple things she did do was cook do the dishes and the laundry.  The house didn't get cleaned.  There were piles of paperwork and clothing everywhere nothing in its place.  The basement and attic were full of stuff as she never threw anything away.  My room was part of the attic (shared with my sister).  We lived in chaos.  My Dad wasn't around much.  He worked and spent alot of time at the local Tavern.  My sister and I thought it was just my Moms way of getting back at him for never being around.  The one difference between my Mom and myself is she was restless.  Her leg was always moving and I remember her telling me that she had what che called butterflies in her stomach since she was a kid and she would sit and jiggle her leg or her whole body for hours in the middle of the night.  I wish she was alive now because I could tell her what I know and maybe she would get some help.

I did OK in school but only got by becuase I could remember what was taught in the classroom.  Not by reading the assignments.  I would also pump my classmates for information on the readings from the night before.  When I got to High School and could take electives I took only things I was interested in and Art classes.  Not to hard to do fairly well that way.  I finished just into the upper 50% in a class of 500+.  I was accepted to college but was scared sh_tless of that prospect and chose Technical school.  That only lasted one semester and I dropped 1/2 of my classes too. 

I went back to Technical School and took a data entry class.  That got me in the door of the employer I have now.  I worked as a Data Entry operator for 3-4 years.  Fortunately for me this employer gave me the opportunity to learn on the job.  Hands on learning experiences are the way I learn best.  That worked for me and I have been promoted several times in the past 25 years I have worked here.  My jobs have always been in the computer field but have changed considerably each time I have taken on a new position so in that way I have kept from being bored.  The problem is I am as big a procrastinator as work as I am at home.  I really need a deadline to be looming to get me motivated to get something done.  Also they have been very flexible in my time schedule so my problem of being late all the time was solved by setting a schedule of whenever I arrive I work 8 hours.

Soooooo,  I never really thought there was anything wrong with me.  I just thought this was just who I was.  Until....my son was diagnosed ADHD (he is the combination type) last fall.  After doing lots and lots of research I started seeing patterns of myself.  When I started looking into women and girls symptoms of ADHD that was the kicker.  I talked to my psychologist about the possibility and she set got e started with a Psychiatrist.  I just had my formal testing done yesterday but I have no doubt that I have ADHD Inatentive type.  Now I wait for some kind of treatment.

gettingagrip38181.6392592593I am 18yr old girl from UK I've had ADHD since I was dianosed at 6yrs old but authority,social services & school people put it down to bad parenting on my mother but how can it be bad parenting from my mum when my brother & sister both in their 20s are normal,how comes I always did naughty things,smashed the house up, never listened or shut up talking,fidget,can't remember what I had been told one minute to the next thats not just being a naughty child.People in the street/shops would say to my mum ''Can't you do anything with her can't you control her'' But how can she when I have ADHD I have a hyperactivity disorder thats not the same as other normal children.Im 18 now but life is tough only few people know about my problems as I know that If I tell people I may lose them & I need to keep hold of the people I got as all through school I was on my own as I did some weird things cos of my ADHD & people didn't want to give me a chance. I do get Disability Living Allowence Mel17herts38181.1849074074

I wasn't diagnosted until a little over a yr. ago. I'm 47 and have been frustrated most of my life! I wish when i was a kid, this was recogonized as something real, and not just being "smart but lazy". I'm glad to know now, but i also think "what if i was diagnosed earlier"?

My mother still dosn't believe i have it because she didn't have it. I always felt different. Most of the nieghborhood was either black or white. I am a Puerto Rican/Irish mix. NOBODY looked quite like me. I get the puerto Rican from my dad, who i never knew. It's possible he had it to.

I had a tough time in school. i was always a loner, except when i found someone who was as weird as myself. I got good grades, except in math. i have dyslexia. my mom really pushed me to study. i had to work 3 times as hard to accomplishe what most do the first time. I also went to tech school when i was 44, and not yet diagnosted. I studied hard, very hard and graduated with honors. But when i got into the field( Health billing & coding), i failed  at the billing. i was a good coder.

To make a long story short, i'm glad i'm getting help also meds, but i will always be haunted by the way i felt pre diag. and how different life would have been if i just didn't have ADD Atleast i'm not alone.

 

I am a 25 f, and I was actually diagnosed at the age of 10. But at THAT point, my dr wouldnt treat me for it because "Normally females are not treated for adhd." So throughout school, I was just looked at as the girl who couldnt keep her deks clean, and couldnt finish her homework... But could still get straight A's... It's all quite annoying. They thought it would just "go away". My parents never even told me I had it! Not until last year. After they told me I did my own research on the matter and realized how much having it still in adulthood affected my life in the ways that it did, I decided to talk to my own DR and see what he could do to help me. I never realized how bad I actually had ADHD! So now they are treating me with Adderrall and I love it. My confidence level has sky rocketed and i am doing so much better professionally, emotionally and socially!

I am 32 Female,

I know I was missed because I spent my childhood jumping from foster home to foster home for many years, never in one spot or around anyone to give a notice to figure out what was wrong with me.

I spent most of my grade school years in special education classes, memory was always a problem... spelling tests, I would write down on a peice of paper the words needed to be learned more then 100 to 500 times, then I would take the tests which varied on results, but I could guarentee that within 5 minutes outside of the class room if someone asked me how to spell that same word I was stuck, like I exhausted myself on remembering... what I was just doing was forcing my short term memory to kick in long enough for the tests, but it just never stuck with me.

Actually I was straight Ds & Fs, did not get As and Bs until my last year of high school!

Today I learn the same way still, by reciting information over and over, to the point of driving other people crazy, but it has in some cases worked for me, especially on subjects which I am interested in.

Now, my diagnosis came about at the age of 15 / 16, first with depression, then with Bi-Polar (only treated for a few years) and remained medication free all these years.

Just within this last month I started looking on the internet questioning my diagnosis... went to the doctor and asked to be placed on ADD medication. I am still not diagnosed, but my doctor did agree to let me start ADD medication. So I am just a few days in using generic for Ritilan, but no grasp yet on if this is helping me.

I do continually fight with racing thoughts, wandering mind, memory, and aggitation out right poor productivity. It feels like regardless of trying to get help, that I am too late, feeling kind of hopeless at this point.

 

I am 21 and was diagnosed with ADHD about four years ago. It kinda sucked that my parents never did anything for me in highshool. I had problems reading in 1-2 grade and it only got worse as I got older. I thought that i was stupid because I would study and I would not be able to remeber anything. I had problems sitting still too. I think that my parents knew all along, because my dad also has problems like this, but never did anything about it. Untile I was 18 and have problems in college. I guess maybe they would have thought that I would of grown out of it or something. On top of it my mom is a herbalist freak (she has her degree in it) so she is against all forms of medication. I guess you could say that I have had problems since I was about five and no one did anything. I am glad I did something about it though, because I would have never been able to get through college(I am going to nursing school in the fall!!!) On top of that my parents at least my mother thinks that I am stupid so I feel pretty good about being able to figured out what was wrong with me and why I had such a hard time learning in school-I have such a hard time concentrating and sitting still and almost everything makes my bored after 5 mintues unless i am really interested in it. Hope this helps to your question?

Great Question!

I have only known I was ADD for about 2 months. I am 42, F, and have 2 boys, 17 and 12 with ADD and a girl, 10 probably ADD.

I think for me anyway, I was a "Good Girl" in school. I have been diagnosed and treated for depression for 16 years (not very successfully). The past couple of years it seems I just cannot continue to "Hold it all together". I am exhausted from trying to appear normal and have the people around me think I am ok.

I guess what I am trying to say, is that many of us  get to their 40s and finally get to the end of their rope emotionally and HAVE to LOOK for HELP!

What do the rest of you think?

This question is brought to you by 'Hyperfocus'

I wanted to ask this question because so many of you have been diagnosed with ADHD only within the past 5 years or so. As someone who was diagnosed with ADHD at age 7, I find this baffling and I'm surprised there isn't more people on this board like me.

How does anyone with ADHD go through their entire schooling and their symptoms are never called to attention? How is it they are never diagnosed until now?

I thought at first it must be an age thing, people who were born pre-1960 weren't going to be diagnosed for obvious reasons. But it's not an age thing, I see people on here in their 20s and 30s who've just been diagnosed too.

I'd also thought perhaps the majority of you were female because females show different symptoms and are less likely to be diagnosed, but there's an awful lot of men on here who have just been diagnosed, as well.

It's very perplexing.

The Perplexed Cheekydeeky

I am 48 M and diagnosed 5 years ago. I thought I couldn't have been diagnosed earlier because I came from the third world, but reading this thread made me believe that I probably wouldn't have been diagnosed earlier.

I have come to the conclusion that society fails to understand and accept ADHD/ADD just like all the other mental ailments until recently. Hopefully, the understanding will grow as we continue to speak out and educate people about this ailment.

Thanks everyone for your replies. Just a little more info about me. I'm 26 F and as you know I was diagnosed at 7. I'm a mixed type with both inattentive and hyperactive components. As a child, I was put on Ritalin  for a week but taken off because of my heart problems and my parents reluctance to recognize and accept my disorder. I struggled for many years in school, scraping by on a C/B average. I had a lot of interests, I was well-behaved but I was antsy and easily distracted.

Now that I'm an adult I've decided to take my condition into my own hands and return to treatment. It's been a difficult journey, getting support from my parents was tough and so was finding the right doctor. But I did it and now I hope I can look forward to the rest of my life.

Thanks for the info, again. As many of you will and already do have children, some with ADHD, I think it's up to us to make sure that awareness is raised and there are better options for the next generation. Schools need very up-to-date information so that there is no misunderstanding about what is best for the child and no reluctance to properly handle the situation.

Even after being aware of my condition teachers called me a liar, a bad listener, lazy, stupid and someone who will never amount to anything in life. Naturally, the students followed up with their own comments. No teacher should be allowed to say these things to a student, especially one who's already struggling knowing they are different from other children but not quite understanding why.

In my opinion, no adult should say this to a child, period.

The Redeemed Cheekydeeky

cheekydeeky38185.4147337963

 

Cheeky - I'm SO SORRY that happened to you! You're 100% right, NO teacher should ever, ever say anything degrading to a student, ever!!!

I was just diagnosed in January of this year, I'm 24 y/o F and have never been much of a student. Mostly c's al my life.

I had a similar expirence with a math teacher. I was in about 3rd or 4th grade and my teacher, Mrs. Johnson had just found out that I had not memorized my multiplication tables by the assigned date and had failed a timed test of 100 multiplication questions. I think I may have gotten to 50 or so. Anyway, she put my little desk in the front of the classroom, facing the rest of the class! She told everyone that she wanted me there so everyone could see what a bad example and a bad student looked like. I had to sit there for a week! As a result I hate math with a white hot passion and always have.

On the other hand I was lucky and had a string of wonderful reading teachers and have a nack for literature and poetry, i've read almost all of Shakespeare's plays 1/4 were read before I graduated from grade school and the rest were read in high shchool. I played Friar Lawerence in Romeo and Juliet in the 7th grade! Just goes to show that we live up to the expectations people give to us!